Your child has conquered the world of clickers, counters, and color changers. Now it’s time to bring on the next level of adventure! These medium-level challenges in MIT App Inventor are like mini boss battles—just tricky enough to stretch their brain, but totally doable with some logic and creativity.
Let’s dive into these 15 exciting ideas that will boost their coding confidence and maybe even earn them the title of App Hero in the Making.
1. Simple Calculator with History
What they’ll learn: Math operations, Lists, Procedures
Build a calculator that can add, subtract, multiply, and divide.
Show a running “history” of previous calculations using a ListView.
💡 Bonus: Let users delete history!
2. Drawing Canvas with Color Picker
What they’ll learn: Canvas, Color selection, Touch events
Let users draw using finger touch.
Add buttons to change brush color, clear canvas, and save artwork.
🎨 Picasso mode: ON.
3. Countdown Timer App
What they’ll learn: Clock component, Timer events
Input a time in seconds and start the countdown.
When it hits zero, play a sound or show a fun alert.
⏳ Perfect for board games or brushing teeth challenges!
4. Step Counter (Pedometer)
What they’ll learn: AccelerometerSensor, Math
Use the accelerometer to detect steps (count shakes).
Display total steps in a Label.
👟 Great for encouraging daily activity!
5. Packing Checklist App
What they’ll learn: Checkboxes, TinyDB, Lists
Let users type and add items to a travel checklist.
Add checkboxes and save progress locally.
🛫 Teaches list handling and organizational skills!
6. Music Player with Playlist
What they’ll learn: Player component, Lists, Dynamic buttons
Let users choose songs from a fixed list and play/pause them.
Create a mini music player interface.
🎧 Dance party in their pocket!
7. Balloon Popper Game
What they’ll learn: Clock timer, Image sprites, Collision detection
How it works:
Add balloons (ImageSprites) that float up using a Clock timer.
When the user taps a balloon (touches the sprite), it disappears and the score increases.
Add a timer to end the game after 30 seconds.
🎈 A fun way to build a game and learn about animations and events!
8. Mini Game: Catch the Ball
What they’ll learn: Canvas, Sprites, Collision detection
Move a paddle left/right to catch falling balls.
Score points for each successful catch.
🏆 Super fun intro to game development!
9. Multi-Language Translator (Offline)
What they’ll learn: Lists, Dictionaries, Text parsing
Build your own phrasebook: pre-load lists of phrases in two languages.
On button click, translate the input phrase via look-up.
🌎 Great for learning basic vocabulary in a new language!
10. Flashcard App for Study
What they’ll learn: Lists, Buttons, Dynamic content
Flip through flashcards with questions on one side, answers on the other.
Add a “shuffle” button to randomize cards.
📚 Makes revision fun and interactive.
11. Target Tap Game
What they’ll learn: Clock, Random, Canvas
A dot appears at random spots on the screen.
Tap it quickly before it disappears to score points.
👆 Improves reflexes and timing!
12. Traffic Light Simulation
What they’ll learn: Clock, Colors, Logic
Use buttons or timers to simulate traffic light changes.
Display red, yellow, and green lights with timing logic.
🚗 Great intro to sequencing and timing.
13. Photo Capture & Gallery
What they’ll learn: Camera component, File component
Add a button to take a picture and save it.
Display saved photos in a gallery using Image components.
📸 Kids will love seeing their creations stored in-app!
14. Food Order App (Pretend Café)
What they’ll learn: Lists, Variables, Price calculation
Pick items from a menu and calculate total cost.
Show an order summary with prices.
🧾 Bonus idea: Add “pay” button that says thank you!
15. Rock–Paper–Scissors Game
What they’ll learn: Random, Conditionals, Images
Let the user pick rock, paper, or scissors (Buttons or ImageSprites).
Generate a random choice for the “computer” and decide the winner.
✂️ Add fun animations when someone wins!
16. Map Locator App
What they’ll learn: LocationSensor, Map component
Show the user’s current location on a map.
Let them drop a pin on any tapped location.
🗺️ A mini GPS experience on their own phone!
17. Photo Filter App
What they’ll learn: Image editor, Pixel manipulation
Let users apply simple filters (grayscale, invert colors) to a photo.
Use Canvas and image processing blocks.
🖼️ A mini Photoshop for aspiring Picassos!
These 17 medium-level App Inventor challenges are perfect for kids who are ready to move beyond the basics and start building apps that are useful, fun, and a bit more technical. From games and tools to art and stories, these projects encourage creativity, logical thinking, and problem-solving—all while having a blast.
And hey, if your child says, “I want to build my own app store now,” don’t panic—just smile and say, “Looks like you’re the CEO now.”